Yesterday the Victorian Liberal Nationals opposition announced a new plan to ‘Unlock Victoria’s Natural Gas Potential’ in a policy which would scrap the current moratorium on onshore conventional gas drilling in the state.

Despite pledging support for the Andrew’s Government’s ban on unconventional gas drilling (fracking), and a right of veto for farmers, the new policy contradicts the party’s previous support for the moratorium when it was enacted in 2014.

The Coalition enacted the moratorium while they were in power in large part because of the strong opposition from farmers in regional Victoria to any form of gas drilling operations on agricultural land.

Mutual Aid - Get Involved!

Following catastrophic fires in East Gippsland, an incredible network of mutual aid and support is developing to provide relief to impacted communities. A network of local landholders is also emerging to provide food, water and shelter to hungry and homeless wildlife.

Due to the overwhelming support flowing into this network from people who want to feed and help wildlife, Friends of the Earth is teaming up with local networks to strengthen the Food for Wildlife network.

Want to kick off 2020 with a powerful message for climate action that can't be ignored?

Then join us for a human sign at the Monash University Clayton soccer pitch in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne! February 16.

Momentum is building at the community level for Victoria to lead on climate.

With PM Scott Morrison govt refusing to tackle the climate crisis, we need Premier Dan Andrews to show greater leadership.

The Victorian Labor govt will soon set Emissions Reduction Targets for the years 2025 and '30. It's the first time a state government will set short- and medium-term targets across the whole economy.https://www.melbournefoe.org.au/human_sign

In November 2019, the Andrews government announced a commitment to immediately end logging in remaining Old Growth forests, protecting around 90,000 hectares, with all logging in native forests across the state to stop by 2030.

The announcement includes the release of the Greater Glider Action Statement, which makes another 96,000 hectares of forest across Victoria immediately exempt from logging in order to protect this and other threatened species.

The government also announced a 30-year plan to support the timber sector as it transitions out of native forests. The government allocated $120 million to ensure the industry is fully supported in the transition.

With the overuse of native forests, 2030 was always too late to phase out logging. But now this summer’s fires have added an urgent dimension to the question of when native forest logging will end.

Fresh on the River Country team, this was my first road trip with the collective to learn what’s going on for communities along the Murray River. We reached Wadi Wadi country and the Nyah-Vinifera Park in the late afternoon, and set up camp by the river. River red gums lined the banks, their bare roots exposed by erosion, lead down to the water. The Murray was a beautiful sight, despite the damage it has faced over the years.

In late December 2019, the Federal government quietly announced that they are underwriting a new gas generator plant with APA Group, Dandenong (1), to be co-located with APA Group’s existing Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) storage facility at Greens Rd, Dandenong South. Some 18 gas-fueled engines are to be installed and 7 kilometres of gas pipelines laid to connect to the existing electricity network. (2) A similar 320 MW gas-fueled power station plant is in operation at Laverton North covering a land area of 32,726m squared, located 15 kilometres from the CBD.

Bushfires and climate change

As we know, catastrophic bushfires around Southeast Australia are affecting us all. The burning of coal, oil and gas has increased global temperatures. This climatic change has led to drier and hotter weather, and frequent droughts have led to extreme fire conditions. In particular, Southeast Australia has had a 25% decline in average rainfall this year. The dry environment has made vegetation more flammable, increasing the severity of the bushfires.

While fracking (unconventional gas drilling) was banned permanently, a moratorium was placed on onshore conventional exploration and drilling. This has been in force since 2014, and will expire on June 30, 2020.

In the next few months, the state government will decide whether to extend the moratorium or let it lapse. Over the past year, the Victorian Gas Programhas been investigating what onshore gas resources exist. Once the final report is released (likely to happen within the next 3 months), the government will make a decision about the future of the moratorium.

Friends of the Earth acknowledge that we meet and work on the land of the Wurundjeri people and that sovereignty of the land of the Kulin Nation were never ceded. We pay respect to their Elders, past and present, and acknowledge the pivotal role that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within the Australian community.